Tear Me Down
by J.L. Hastings
Summary: Nikko and Stavros were abused when they were younger; when their past comes back to haunt them, will they be able to cope, or will they let their past tear them down? And if they are torn down, will love be enough to save them? Nikk/Cour and Stav/OC. R&R!
1. Prologue: Shadows

**Author: **Tinkerbella

**Title: **Tear Me Down

**Rating: T **for some language and more mature themes.

**Summary: **Why did Stavros hate the thought of Nikko being a rock-star so much? What happened to their parents? Nikko and Stavros have some pretty dark shadows in their pasts that they have been trying to escape them most of their lives. What happens when those shadows come back to haunt them? Will Nikko be able to explain his problems to Courtney? Or will he let the shadows tear him down?

**Additional Author's Notes: **This story was born on the first night that I watched Spectacular and I hope all of you enjoy it! It's pretty mature and has themes of spousal and child abuse, so if these things are triggering or especially uncomfortable for you, then I would suggest avoiding it. That said, this is also a sort of sweet romance type of thing, and that chemistry we see between Courtney and Nikko will still be there and the corny jokes won't be absent, so please read and review! ^_^

* * *

**Prologue: Shadows**

Lightning crashed outside and a young Nikko jumped and cuddled into his big brother's side, his small frame shaking from head to toe. Screaming echoed throughout the home, as Zoë Alexander told her husband, Elias, exactly what she thought of him and his destructive tendencies and his dead-end career.

Whether Nikko's fear was caused by the thunderstorm outside or the fighting going on in the home, even Nikko wasn't sure. Stavros just softly murmured soothing words in his baby brother's ear and tried to ignore their parents, tried to ignore the sound of flesh hitting flesh that followed his mother's outburst. Moments later, they heard a flurry of footsteps heading towards the small bedroom that the two boys shared.

"They're coming," Nikko whispered fearfully, his voice quivering. What if Daddy wanted to yell at them, too? Or hit them, like he hit mommy?

"Shh…Nothing's going to happen. It's probably just mom coming to take us away from him…she said we were going to be able to live happily ever after once he was gone," Stavros said; having been the older of the two by almost 6 years, Stavros was privy to more than his 5 year old brother. In fact, Zoë told him just about everything for lack of anyone else to vent to.

Moments later, their door burst open and their mother stumbled in; her blonde hair was a tangled mess upon her head and there was blood coming out of a split lip. Two large, dark purple bruises were forming over her eyes, which were the same brown, almost black, color as Stavros's own. Indeed, Stavros took after her in every aspect except for the color of his hair. Nikko had his father's green eyes and dark hair, but his smile was very similar to his mother's.

"Stavros, honey, your father's coming. I need you to pretend you didn't see me. Can you do that for me? Can you tell Daddy that I was never here?" Zoë said in a frantic voice, her frail arms shooting out as she took Stavros's shoulders in her small hands.

Unable to say anything else, Stavros just nodded and Zoë scrambled over to their window, which lead out to a fire escape. She smiled brightly at her boys. "I love you, and I promise, one day, I'll take you with me," Zoë said, and then she disappeared over the edge of the window and all they heard was the sound of her feet as she tore down the fire escape in record time.

"Where's mommy going? Is she coming back?" Nikko asked, confusion etched into his face.

As if on cue, their father crowded their doorway, the smell of alcohol permeating the air around him. He looked wild, his face a deep shade of red the suggested his huge amount of anger. He looked around the room before his glare landed on his children. "Where is she!? Where'd the bitch go!?" he growled, his voice a low rumble that probably helped him garner his bad-ass reputation in the local music district.

"She w---" Nikko began, tears streaming down his face as the confusion and fear lead to a large amount of frustration that was too much for the small child to deal with. Stavros's hand shot out and covered Nikko's mouth, preventing him from saying anything else.

"Nowhere. She's not here," he said, his voice just barely quivering in a way that Nikko thought very brave.

Elias's glare came to rest on the older of the two children, his face flushing an even deeper shade of purple. Without warning, he drunkenly lurched towards Stavros, his own muscular and tattooed arms mirroring what Zoë had done just moments before, but he did this in a much more violent manner. His large hands gripped Stavros's shoulders painfully and the smell of stale beer made Stavros want to vomit.

Perceiving that Nikko might get hurt, Stavros pushed his younger sibling off of the bed and Elias began shaking Stavros, shouting, "Where the hell is she!? If you're lyin' to me, boy, then you'd better say your prayers cuz I'll kill you!"

Stavros just glared up at him, his lips closed tightly both in anger and in refusal to tell his father anything. Even more angry than before, Elias released Stavros's shoulders and placed his hands around his eldest's neck. "Did you hear me, boy!? I'll kill you!"

Nikko began crying in earnest when he beheld this. "Stop it!" he protested weakly, pulling himself to his feet. "You're hurting him!"

Elias showed no sign of stopping; in fact, if anything, his hands tightened even more around the small neck, until Stavros couldn't breathe at all, his face turning red as he tried to pull in breath; he could no longer stop himself from letting a few tears out, and weakly put his hands up to push his father off of him in an attempt to get himself free.

Nikko reached for his father's big arm, pulling at it and yelling, over and over, for him to stop hurting Stavros. When this didn't help either, Nikko began pounding at the arm with his tiny fists. As if swatting at a particularly persistent insect, Elias flashed his arm out and lashed out at Nikko, sending the small child to the ground painfully. Elias suddenly loosened his grip on Stavros's throat, allowing the boy to pull in a painful breath, and stared down at the 5 year old who was sobbing, incoherent words spouting from him.

Elias then stumbled backwards, as if just realizing what he was doing and his back hit the wall. He was breathing hard and staring at his children, who were both crying, Nikko on the floor and Stavros on the bed, a look of shock, hurt and anger on his face as he held his throat.

Without a second glance, Elias lurched out of the room and thundered down the hall, slamming the room to his bedroom when he reached it. Stavros finally stopped holding his throat and stood up, walked over to his own bedroom door and closed it, turning the lock afterwards in case Elias came back for more. That done, Stavros then reached down and picked Nikko up, holding the sobbing child close to his chest as he sat back in the bed and pulled the cover over the two of them. Meanwhile, the storm raged on outside and the boys were left to wonder what would become of them, now that their mother had abandoned them to their drunken father.

~*****~

* * *

**Author's Note: So, what did you think? Did you enjoy it? I really hope that more and more people come to post Spectacular fan fictions and as the number of fictions grow, readers shall grow also. Thank you and don't forget to review! ^_^**


	2. Chapter One: Wake Up Call

**A/N: Yep…already posting the next chapter. What can I say? It's the weekend and I don't THINK I have any homework, and well…I'm hooked on Spectacular! What can I say? Anywho, here's the next chapter. Please review! ^_^**

**Oh, and for the record, I have never been to WA, so I don't know what kind of hospitals or things like that are actually functioning, so I figured I'd use one that I had heard of on a website.**

* * *

**Chapter One: Wake Up Call**

It had been twelve years since their mother disappeared and Elias turned on them. Twelve years, and Nikko still woke up screaming during a thunderstorm, the smell of alcohol and sweat surrounding him, smothering him. He had never gotten over it, not even when his brother had finally managed to get him away and send their father to prison when Stavros had turned eighteen. Nikko had been twelve (almost thirteen) years old at the time.

Taking a deep breath, Nikko reached up and pushed a strand of his brown hair to the side so it would be out of his face. It was morning, he realized faintly. He could smell pancakes cooking in the kitchen and could hear his brother humming some old Greek lullaby their mother used to sing, before she had abandoned them.

Bitterness welled up in his chest when he thought about Zoë and he had to willfully push it down; that was all in the past. He had a different life now. He had Courtney, and he had Spectacular, and they were all getting pretty popular. In fact, they had a small loyal fan base at their high school that always begged them to put on a show in the auditorium or at some fair or other. Nearly everybody had a copy of their single, and they were fast becoming famous even in neighboring towns and counties.

People from rival high schools came to see their shows, and even paid a bit of money, which certainly helped finance a lot of things; not that their record deal didn't pay for most of it, but they _did _have to give some of that money to Nels and the other members of Flux, and also had to give some of the money to the school (the principal claimed that Spectacular, as an after school activity, had to share whatever money that they earned with the school; they had tried to contest the fact, but eventually, the school won).

Even so, the success of "Everything can Change" was pretty unbelievable, especially considering that the single had only been out for about 2 weeks. Finishing the single had taken a lot more time than Nikko had thought, but it had all been worth it. In fact, it was downright exhilarating. On the day after their single came out, he remembered Courtney nearly passing out with surprise to see people wearing Spectacular T-Shirts, asking them to sign their copies of the single and telling them how much they enjoyed listening to it.

A soft smile came to his lips as he thought about Courtney. She was…amazing. So full of energy, so full of life. Sure, she still had moments where she was scared to take chances, but she was getting better and Nikko loved her for it. That's when he realized that he was supposed to meet Courtney for breakfast this morning at the café down the street.

Jumping out of bed, Nikko nearly fell face first onto the floor. His blankets were wrapped around his ankles and he had to hop around for a minute before escaping them. He was only wearing a pair of navy blue boxers and a band t-shirt, so he grabbed the first pair of pants he saw on the floor and pulled them on, then grabbed his favorite black hoodie and put it on. Quickly, he stumbled out of the room and ran towards the single bathroom that he and his brother shared in their apartment to brush his teeth. When that was done, he looked at his bed-head and just ruffled it a bit before leaving it alone; after all, bed-head was getting pretty stylish these days. That done, he rushed towards the front door.

Stavros, startled by the abruptness of his little brother, glanced at him. "Off so early? You know it's the weekend right? I made pancakes," he said, holding up a plate of the golden-brown breakfast food.

"Sorry, bro; I'm supposed to be meeting Court for breakfast," he said, grabbing his wallet (which he had left on the couch accidentally the night before), and stuffing it in his back pocket. "Later!" he called then, leaving his very confused older brother in his wake.

Stavros sighed. "Guess I'll be eating all this alone," he muttered, glancing down at the large plate of pancakes.

~*****~

"You're late!" Courtney said, not wasting any time in berating her boyfriend. She stood at the table she had been holding for them for the past 30 minutes, her arms folded disapprovingly across her chest.

Nikko had the decency to look abashed, but quickly recovered, flashing her a bright smile. "I was too busy dreaming of you," he said in perfect innocence.

Courtney tried her hardest to hold in her laughter and keep her stern pose, but his look was too much, and eventually she cracked and her laughter bubbled out of her, which only served to make Nikko smile even more brightly; he loved her laugh. Assuming he was done being in trouble, he reached across and pecked Courtney softly on her lips and then sat down; she followed.

"What were you really doing, Nikko?" she said, picking up her menu and looking over it at him.

"Just laying around, I guess. I really was thinking of you, though. Scout's honor!" Nikko held up his hand in a mock Scout-Salute, and then picked up his own menu. He quickly scanned over the choices, then looked up at Courtney. "I don't even know what half of this is! Don't they have anything that doesn't start with frappa-mocha-latte-chai-thingy?" he said.

Courtney rolled her eyes. "Those are coffees, idiot," she said, reaching over and flipping the menu over to the other side, "Look at the food selection; I assure you none of them start with…whatever it is you just said." A happy smile lilted her lips even as she made fun of him, and Nikko was struck again by how beautiful she was. It wasn't that she was what every guy dreamed of; she didn't have a perfectly symmetrical face, or a make-up covered facade, but rather, she had a beauty that was all her own and completely unique, not to mention, natural; it was breathtaking.

Feeling that she was being stared at, she met his eyes again. "Take a picture, it lasts longer," she said.

Nikko laughed. "Sorry…Anyways, I think I'll have a simple omelet. What about you?"

"That sounds good…I think I'll have the same," Courtney agreed and held up her hand to signal that she was ready to order. When the waiter came over, she quickly told him exactly what she wanted in her omelet. She did this with complete attention to detail; Nikko found it hilarious that, even in food, Courtney still liked things folded neatly in a box, not even touching the corners, as Janet had said.

When the waiter finished taking Courtney's order, he glanced at Nikko. "And what would you like in your omelet, sir?" he said.

Nikko smirked. "Surprise me," he said, and Courtney kicked him under the table, letting him know that she got the joke.

The waiter smiled, asked if they needed anything else and then took the menus away.

"Ow, what'd you have to kick me for?" Nikko said, trying to sound scandalized but managing to sound amused instead.

"Nikko Alexander, I can tell when I'm being made fun of! Are you going to tell me that now I have to be spontaneous when I'm eating, too?" she said jokingly.

He shrugged. "It couldn't hurt," he said, and she kicked him again before both of them settled down to wait for their food to arrive.

~*****~

Stavros sighed; his stomach was killing him, so he had decided that it was time for a trip to the store to get some Pepto Bismol. He also decided to get a few groceries so he could make Courtney's favorite food for dinner; she had called and asked if she could eat with them that night and Stavros loved cooking for people, so he had immediately agreed. Now seemed as good a time as any to get all of the ingredients he needed. Unfortunately, he hadn't counted on having such a hard time finding the perfect spinach for his much-loved Spanakopita.

"Oh!" an exclamation behind him caused Stavros to turn around, his curiosity immediately taking over. His dark eyes came to rest on two women, one was older, with a pale blonde bob; she looked to be in her late 40s, early 50s. Something about the woman triggered something, but he hadn't quite figured out what it was when the woman suddenly moved towards him. The younger woman, who Stavros figured was a nurse of some kind, tried to grab hold of her. "Zoë! Please, you're confusing the poor gentleman," she cried.

Stavros immediately dropped everything he was holding and stared at the older woman. No…it couldn't be…it was impossible. She couldn't be… "Stavros!" Zoë cried, wrapping two arms that looked like they were made of nothing but bone around him.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir; you see, she thinks that you're her son. The poor woman's mind has been ruined by drugs, and she doesn't really know what she's doing, so please forgive her," the nurse said, trying to pull Zoë off of him.

"M-mom?" he whispered, ignoring the nurse and holding the blonde woman out at arm's length. She looked terrible; her dark eyes were sunken and her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in a long while. At the corners of her eyes, pronounced crow's feet marked the passage of time. She wasn't wearing decent clothes; just a fluffy pink bathrobe. Even though only twelve years had passed since she had walked out on her family, Zoë Alexander looked like it had been thirty instead; age had not treated her well. And yet…yet, Stavros knew it was her. There was a kind of recognition in her eyes.

"What happened to you?" he said, his voice cracking as he took her in.

"Um…excuse me, but are you saying that you really are her son?" the woman said. Stavros looked up at her and only managed to nod.

The nurse heaved a sigh. "Oh, thank god! We've been trying to find her family for ages---ever since she stumbled into our sanitarium five years ago, in fact. Oh, my name's Quinn…Quinn McCarthy," the woman said, holding out her hand.

Only now did Stavros allow himself to actually look at the younger woman; she was quite beautiful, with long, wavy red hair, grey eyes and a dusting of freckles across her pale cheeks.

"I…um…my name is Stavros; Stavros Alexander," he said, taking the proffered hand and shaking it, mechanically. His day had become incredibly confused. "Did you say…that her mind has been ruined by drugs?" he said, meaning, of course, Zoë. To himself, he thought, 'How far have you fallen, mom, since you left us?'

A sad look crossed Quinn's face and she nodded. "When she came, she was hugely addicted to heroine and crack. We managed to get her to quit, but by then, her mind had already been broken so we decided it was safer for her to stay with us. We tried to find her family, but she never told us her last name. Just said that her name was Zoë and that she needed to find her boys. It's really…well, incredible, that we actually found you. This wasn't the first time that she claimed a stranger was one of her sons; I never expected that you would actually be him," Quinn stated.

Stavros felt his heart break at her words and he looked at his long-lost mother, who was gingerly picking around in the produce isle, completely oblivious to the fact that he and Quinn were talking about her.

"How the hell did this happen?" he muttered, rubbing his face. He then looked at his watch. Nikko was bound to be home soon. He wondered how he was going to explain all of this to him. Stavros knew that Nikko still held a grudge against their mother for leaving them; he didn't understand the sort of pain their mother had gone through, or how hard it had been for her to leave them as she had done…this was made painfully evident by the addictions she had fallen to.

Quinn suddenly looked at her own watch and a look of alarm passed over her face. "Oh, no! I'm sorry, but we have to go. If you want to see your mother, just come by the Western State Sanitarium, in Tacoma. Ask for me at the reception's desk and I'll lead you to your mother," Quinn said and then took his mother by the arm and pulled her gently away from the food. She protested weakly and tried to latch onto Stavros.

"I'll come see you, Mom," he assured her, then planted a kiss on her sallow cheek. Quinn smiled at him, then looked at his mother.

"Come on, Zoe. We have to get back to the hospital now. Don't you want to see Ginger and Trevor?" Quinn coaxed, pulling her down the isle towards the door. Stavros watched her go, then picked up his basket and went about the process of finding the rest of his ingredients, his stomach ache all but forgotten now.

~*****~

* * *

**A/N: That's it for this chapter. Thanks for reading and I look forward to any reviews I can get! ^_^**


	3. Chapter Two: Unwanted Reminders

**A/N: And…another! Please review, especially all you fabulous people that favorite and alert my story! I like to hear from you, too, you know! So don't be shy. ^_^**

**Oh, and I'd like to apologize for not replying individually to all of your reviews. When I got them, the website wouldn't let me log in, so I decided I'd give you one big thank you on here! Thanks to each and every one of your for all of your great reviews and I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment!**

**Chapter Two: Unwanted Reminder**

Nikko returned just in time for dinner, hand in hand with Courtney; for Stavros, the 4 hours that had passed since his strange encounter with his mother had seemed like forever. He wanted to tell Nikko, but for the life of him, he didn't know how he was supposed to go about doing that, especially with Courtney staying for a while. He had thought that Nikko would return immediately after his breakfast with Courtney and that he would have time to talk to him before dinner, but that hadn't been the case.

"Hey, bro," Stavros greeted, nodding in Nikko's direction, "And you, too, Court. The Spanakopita is almost done."

"Thanks, Stavros!" Courtney said. Stavros really liked Nikko's girlfriend; she was polite and bubbly, and he figured that she was just what his troubled brother needed in his life to calm him down some.

"Any time. Um…Nikko, do you have a minute? I…uh, need to talk to you." Stavros said, glancing at Courtney. Getting the hint, Courtney glanced between them and offered a smile. "I'll just go up to the roof and relax for a while," she said, quickly retreating.

Nikko knew it was serious if Stavros wanted to talk to him in private. "What is it?" he said. Fear was making Nikko's heart pound; he didn't even know what he was afraid of, just that the look on Stavros's face meant bad news.

"There's no really easy way to say this but, Nikko…I…mom, I saw her today," Stavros said, figuring that the best way to say what he needed to say was just outright saying it.

It felt to Nikko as if all the air in his lungs was being punched out of him. Mom? Stavros had seen her? He looked around, as if he expected her to pop out from behind the couch. "I…are you serious?" he said. He wasn't afraid now; just angry. Who did she think she was, popping back into their lives all of a sudden? She had no place with them any more.

"Yeah, Nikko. She's…she's really badly off; the nurse, Quinn, said that she was addicted to drugs, and that she lost her mind because of them and she's now stuck in some hospital where they're doing God-only-knows-what to her. We have to get her out of there, bro. We owe her that," Stavros said, his voice and eyes pleading with his little brother to understand exactly what he was trying to say.

Nikko felt his jaw drop. "What the hell do we owe her for, Stavros!? Abandoning us to that drunken bastard? Don't you remember what he did to us? Let me remind you; he nearly killed us on a near-daily basis! Stavros, that bitch is not our mother. Leave her to the nurses and her damn drugs; she deserves nothing from us!" The outburst startled even Nikko; he hadn't known just how much anger he had bottled up about her.

"Nikko, do you have any idea what you're saying? Dad beat her, too! Don't you remember how often we heard her screams and they kept us up at night? Dad never even touched us when she was there because she protected us---"

"Exactly. She knew she was protecting us, and abandoned us anyways! Why couldn't she have just taken us away with her? What happened to our 'happily ever after!?' She lied to us, and she apparently brain-washed you; I don't know how you can pretend that she loved us. I'm sorry, Stavros, but that woman is dead to me. If you bring her here, I swear to god, I'm leaving," Nikko said, his jaw set and his eyes a fierce glare.

Stavros hated how much Nikko took after their father without even knowing it; every time Nikko glared like that, Stavros remembered the glares of their father as he beat them. "You won't leave, Nikko. You need me. You'd be lost on your own," Stavros said, trying to remain the voice of reason, as he was so often forced to do.

"I won't leave? Stavros, you know me too well to think that I'd go back on my word," Nikko said.

Stavros rubbed his temples; Nikko was right. He wouldn't go back on his word. "So, you'd rather I abandon someone knowingly? Just let her waste away in some hospital? Sometimes, it scares me how uncaring you are---almost as bad as dad was," Stavros said without thinking.

Nikko moved faster than Stavros would have ever thought possible, and before he knew it, Nikko had him by the shirt, breathing heavily; his face was a dark shade of red. "I. Am. Nothing. Like. Him." Nikko let go and shoved his brother back onto the couch and turned away, running his hand through is hair; it was one of the few ways he knew of calming himself down. As he turned, however, he saw Courtney staring down at him from the stairs that lead to the roof.

"Is…something wrong?" she asked uncertainly, looking between the two brothers.

Stavros coughed awkwardly and stood, placing an arm stiffly around his brother's shoulders. "Of course. We're fine," Stavros said, patting Nikko who just gave him a sidelong glare, then turned back to his girlfriend.

"Come on, Court. Let's go to my room and listen to that demo I told you about earlier," he said, taking her by the arm. He shot one more glare at his brother before leading a very confused Courtney into his room and closing the door soundly behind them.

Stavros stared at the door for a minute, took a deep breath, and tried to figure out where his loyalties should lie; with his ailing mother, or his troubled and needy brother.

~*****~

"Nikko," Courtney began when they were alone, "You know you can talk to me, right?"

Nikko glanced at her from where he sat on his bed. "Of course. And you can talk to me, too."

"No, I mean, right now. It's clear something big is going on and you don't know how to deal with it, so just…just talk to me. Tell me what you feel, what the situation is. I can't pretend that I'll know exactly what to do about it, but I've always felt that it's always best to get something off of your chest when you're under pressure, you know?" Courtney said, taking a seat beside him and grabbing one of his hands, pulling it to her and nuzzling it with her cheek.

Nikko wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her everything; just break down and give in. But he couldn't. His family life was too complicated to explain to someone like Courtney, who had a really loving mother and had once had a loving father; she probably thought that all parents took their children bowling, or comforted them when they were sad. He couldn't ruin her innocence with all the crazy stuff he'd witnessed, the horrors a parent could inflict on their wife and children without even blinking.

So, instead of telling her what was wrong, he pulled her face closer to his and kissed her tenderly. She melted into his arms and Nikko felt a hole he hadn't known existed fill with love for her. He didn't have to remember any of those things. He could just revel in what he had now, what he was lucky to have found at such a young age; true love.

When they parted, he rested his forehead against hers. "There's nothing to tell, Court. It's just some things that Stavros and I have to deal with. Everything will be okay."

Courtney shook her head against his. "I don't believe you, Nikko, but I'm going to pretend that I do, just for this moment," she replied.

Nikko kissed her one more time, then stood, flashing a diversionary smile in her direction and reaching into his closet to grab a shoe box that was filled with CD's. "Now, you still haven't heard this hella awesome demo that Nels and Flux came up with, back in the old days. I think it would make a great show-song and I thought I'd get your opinion on it," he said and took his seat again, rifling through the box.

As he did this, Courtney let herself laugh. "Hella?" she asked.

"Hey, a member of one of my favorite bands uses that phrase and it's rubbed off on me!" Nikko defended before continuing his search.

Finally, he pulled out an unmarked CD that he placed in the CD player. Moments later, the music began blaring and Nikko sat back. Courtney joined him and cuddled into his side to settle in for the wait until dinner.

~*****~

Stavros still hadn't figured out what he was going to do about his situation, so he decided to busy himself with dinner preparations. He was just checking the Spanakopita when the phone began ringing.

He quickly put the Spanakopita back in the oven and then rushed over to the side-table on which the phone rested. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Stavros? Stavros Alexander?" came a feminine voice that Stavros wasn't familiar with.

"Um…Yes?" he replied.

"Hey, this is Quinn….Um…is this a bad time?"

"I'm about to have dinner with my family, but I have a while before the meal is ready. Is something wrong? Did something happen to my mom?" Stavros asked, worry making his heart pound thickly in his chest.

"No, no! Zoë is fine. It's just…well…I was wondering if, Gosh, this is awkward, but maybe….we could have lunch tomorrow? Just me and you?"

Stavros was confused. "Um…I guess so, but…how did you get my number?" he asked.

"Heh…well, I looked it up in the phonebook. I know, I seem kind of like a stalker, but I just…I saw how gentle you were with your mother, even though you hadn't seen her in God only knows how long, and it sort of struck me and I decided…what did I have to lose, you know? So, are we on for lunch?" Quinn's voice said.

"I…uh…sure, yeah. What time and where?"

"Maybe we could go to the Pacific Grill? It's one of my favorite places. About…1 o'clock?"

"Alright…okay…Yeah, I'll see you there." They hung up then and Stavros leaned back against the table. Had he just been asked out on a date? By an almost complete stranger? Stavros decided that the day couldn't get any stranger or more complicated and shook his head. It was about time to eat.

~*****~

**A/N: Alright, there's the next chapter! I discovered, ironically, that Lincoln High School (which is where Nikko and Courtney go to school) in Washington is in Tacoma, WA, which was exactly where I randomly decided to put the hospital, so I thought that was kind of cool. Hehe…anyways, please review and tell me what you think! ^_^**


	4. Chapter Three: Sitting on the Rooftop

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. I'm a little under the weather so I don't know how great it will be, but I think it's alright. Please post a review so I can see what you think! Thanks! ^_^**

* * *

**Chapter Three: Sitting on the Rooftop**

After they had all finished their meals, Nikko and Courtney excused themselves from the table and decided to sit up on the roof and just talk. Courtney's mom didn't expect her home until 11 o'clock, so she had plenty of time to kill.

Nikko had brought an extra blanket up from the linen closet downstairs and the two of them sat side-by-side on it, looking up at the sky and just thinking.

Courtney sighed contentedly and lay herself down on her back, so that she was looking directly up at the night sky. She couldn't see all the stars due to the fact that she was in the city, but one star in particular showed right through the smog in the sky; in fact, it was if the smog couldn't even come close to blocking out the star.

"Look, Nikko! That star…it kind of reminds me of you," Courtney admitted shyly.

Nikko glanced down at her, his eyes narrowed in thought, which she found very cute about him. "Really? How so?" he asked, somewhat perplexed.

"Well, you're obsessed with standing out, and you refuse to let anything get in the way of that," Courtney explained, as if she were talking to a three-year-old; to her, it was obvious how he embodied all of the attributes of the persevering star.

"Heh, well, that's true, I guess….but the same can be said of you, too, Court. Even though nobody thought Spectacular would amount to anything, you refused to give up and kept on going and going. You never gave up, not even once," Nikko replied.

Courtney smiled up at him. "Thanks. It's nice being compared to a star…even if I had to compare you to one first!" she teased.

Nikko laughed and laid down next to her. "I'll compare you to a star any day; in fact, just say the word and I'll compose an entire song about how your light shines through any kind of darkness," Nikko stated, and he was surprised to note that he meant every single word.

"Do it, then," Courtney said light-heartedly, "But only because you want to, and not because I 'said the word.' Honestly, I would rather you do something without me having to ask for it."

"What, surprise you?" Nikko said, reminding her of their inside joke.

"Yeah. Surprise me," Courtney replied.

"That won't be a problem," he said, and before Courtney had time to think about what he'd said, he moved and was hovering above her, a hand on either side of her head.

Courtney thought he was going to kiss her, and sat up on her elbows so that she could more easily receive the kiss. She already had her eyes closed and everything, just waiting to enjoy it, but instead of kissing her, Nikko suddenly began tickling her.

She screeched in laughter, and tried to squirm away, but he kept her where she was until she accidentally kicked out and caught him just inside his leg, very close to the most painful place to be kicked for a guy. Realizing the danger, Nikko quickly retreated, both of them laughing.

After that they both settled down, and Nikko did kiss Courtney then. Just a light kiss, but it said everything that needed to be said between them. It was perfect.

"Ah," Courtney said once they parted, returning to her previous position of lying on her back. Nikko did the same and then Courtney continued, "I haven't been tickled like that in ages. Not since my dad…" she trailed off then, but Nikko's curiosity had been piqued.

"Court…what exactly happened to your dad?" he asked softly, trying not to seem like he was trying to pry, but also attempting to make his tone sincere.

"It was a little while ago," she said, and Nikko thought she was trying to dismiss the subject, but he remained silent and expectant, hoping that she would continue.

"We--that is, my mom, dad and myself--were coming back from the beach; he was driving, and mom was in the front seat. I was about thirteen years old at the time, and I was sitting in the backseat, listening to my favorite Broadway musical CD, so I never even saw it coming. Another car just plowed right into my dad's side of the car. It killed him instantly, but my mom and me got out relatively unharmed; just a few cuts and bruises, and an emotional scar bigger than the ocean. It was hard, you know? Your father is, like, a hero. Nothing can hurt him, and he'll always be there. But, right before my very eyes, he was gone. He disappeared just like that, and my mom and I were left alone and had nothing to fill this huge void in our hearts," Courtney said. Towards the end, her voice cracked and she sat up, trying to wipe away her tears. Nikko reached over and began rubbing soothing circles on her back.

"I'm sorry, Court…I can tell it was rough," Nikko said softly, his own eyes watering a little as he thought of what that would be like. What would he have done if he had had a father like Courtney's, one who actually cared about him and Stavros? And then it took him a minute to realize that Stavros was sort of like that, sort of a father figure. What would he do if something happened to Stavros? He suddenly felt really guilty about the way he had acted towards Stavros earlier that evening, and resolved to himself that he would apologize for acting so irrational. Even if he still hated the thought of their mom coming to live with them again, Stavros hadn't deserved such a violent reaction; not in the least.

"Sometimes, I feel like he's still there. Like, he's just out of eye-sight but definitely there, and when I turn around, there's nobody around and the feeling just disappears. I feel so silly…I can't believe I'm unloading all this on you." Courtney was still trying to get rid of her tears, but she tried to laugh anyways.

"I don't mind at all. I mean, I _am_ the one who asked. The point is, Courtney, I want you to tell me things. I want you to feel like you can trust me enough to tell me about your past, about your feelings. It's perfectly understandable that you're upset…I'm just glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me this stuff," Nikko said.

Courtney sniffled and wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve, since there were no handkerchiefs or napkins or tissues or anything else with which to do so. "But what about you, Nikko? You don't have a father, either. What happened? And where's your mom?"

Nikko felt his throat close. He didn't want to remember any of that, but he did owe it to Courtney to tell her something. "My dad…he's in jail. He wasn't a very nice person," Nikko said, putting things as lightly as possible. "As for my mom…she left us. When I was little."

"Oh, Nikko, I'm so sorry!" Courtney sounded genuinely appalled and Nikko stifled a bitter laugh; if only she knew the things that made his father not such a nice person, or why their mom had left in the first place, but he couldn't tell her that. He just couldn't bear it.

"Don't be. I don't really think about them much. Or, well, I try not to. Sometimes, like today, I can't help it," Nikko admitted truthfully.

"What happened today?" Courtney asked.

"Stavros saw her today. Mom, I mean," Nikko said quietly.

"Aren't you relieved that she's okay?"

Nikko did laugh then, and Courtney shot him a questioning look. "Relieved? Quite the opposite, actually. I know it's horrible of me, but, well, she left us, Court. She abandoned my brother and me and now, all of a sudden, she's back and expecting to have a place with us again? It's not right. Not in the least." Nikko felt bitter tears try and force themselves out but he pushed them back down; he hadn't cried about his mom since he was little and he wasn't about to start now. Especially not in front of the woman he loved.

Courtney didn't know what to say. What _could_ she say? That he was, in fact, wrong to feel that way and that he should be happy? No, she couldn't say that. And she couldn't act like she understood that kind of bitterness and felt that it was okay. She didn't know anything about this kind of stuff. "Nikko…" she began, but he held up a hand.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over it. Let's just talk about something else, okay?"

Courtney chewed her bottom lip. She didn't think he was over it at all, but she didn't want to push the envelope. She was lucky he had told her this much. Sighing, and feeling like she had been defeated, Courtney looked up at him and said, "Okay; but promise me, you won't let this eat you up, okay? If you feel like you need someone, I'm here for you and I want you to know that."

"Yeah, thanks, Court. And I do know that. I really just don't want to even think about my parents right now if I can help it," Nikko said, and then he pulled Courtney into his arms, and they just enjoyed each other's support.

Moments later, Courtney piped up with one last question. "What was her name?"

"My mom?" Nikko asked, perplexed.

"Yeah."

"Zoë. Her name was Zoë."

"Well, Zoë was crazy for leaving you; if I could, I'd never spend a minute away," Courtney replied, and Nikko was thankful to hear that, even if he didn't say so out loud.

~*****~

* * *

**A/N: It's kind of a short chapter, but I DID promise one of my readers more Nikko/Courtney, and this felt like a good stopping point. Lol. Anyways, please review! I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts and the like. Thanks in advance! ^_^**

**PS: The title was loosely based on the Lost Prophets song, but the words aren't perfect, so, yeah…My attempt at being clever. Lol. **


	5. Chapter Four: Where I'm Meant to Be

**A/N: I'm sorry it took a while! My overall busy schedule combined with a nasty bout of writer's block held me up, but hopefully, I will be back to writing speed in no time.**

**Chapter Four: Where I'm Meant to Be**

Nikko kissed Courtney good night and closed the door behind her, then turned around and leaned back against it; he missed her already, and now he had the tough job of apologizing to Stavros. Anyone who knew Nikko knew that apologizing for him was not an easy thing. At all.

Steeling himself, Nikko walked over to the door to his brother's room, took a deep breath, and knocked lightly on the wood paneling. "Come in," came a voice from inside, and Nikko pushed the door open a crack.

Stavros was sitting against the headboard of his bed, a book in his hands and reading glasses on his face. "Hey, bro, is this a good time?" Nikko asked.

Stavros took off his glasses and motioned to the spot next to him on the bed. "Sure, come on in," he said.

Nikko did so, closed the door behind him and made his way slowly to the bed. He perched himself awkwardly on the side. "Look, I'm really sorry," Nikko said, looking anywhere but at his brother. "I didn't mean to, you know, explode like that. But…well, it's just…she abandoned us. I've hated her for so long because of that, and I can't just…turn off the hatred, or whatever. It's not easy for me."

A soft touch on his shoulder finally caused Nikko to turn and look his brother in the face. Stavros was smiling. "I can't believe I just heard an apology out of you, Nikko," he said to lighten the mood. He patted Nikko's shoulder twice and then took his hand back, not wanting to push the whole 'touchy-feely-brother' thing.

Nikko laughed lightly. "Yeah, well, I was talking to Courtney and she made me think. She's really good at that…making me think, I mean."

"Heh, I've noticed. She's got you on a leash, bro," Stavros said.

Nikko lightly punched him on the shoulder and got himself more situated on the bed. "Shut up. Anyways, what about you? Anyone been trying to get you on a leash lately?" Nikko asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Stavros laughed, and a slight blush crept onto his cheeks. Nikko caught the look and knew instantly that something was up. "Oh, my god! There really is. Tell me about it!" Nikko said, feeling slightly silly (this was usually what girls did and Nikko found it a little embarrassing that he was doing it with his brother, but he was genuinely curious).

"Well…she's a nurse. I met her today, when, well, you know," Stavros said.

"And her name is…?" Nikko prodded.

"Quinn. Her name is Quinn. She asked me on a date for tomorrow."

"Really? Whoa…she moves fast! It took me forever to get the guts to ask Courtney out. Of course, that might have been due to the fact that we were too busy butting heads about the whole show-choir thing, but still…She's a forward girl, this Quinn," Nikko said in a slightly teasing manner.

"Yeah, well, she's a red-head, so I guess it comes with the territory. I was pretty shocked…I haven't been on a date in quite a while," Stavros admitted.

"I've noticed," Nikko said, and Stavros punched him in the arm once more.

"Anyways, you've got practice tomorrow, don't you? You might want to get to bed soon. Courtney will have your head if you fall asleep during rehearsal," Stavros said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know when I'm being kicked out," Nikko said, standing up and stretching. He had pulled a pillow up with him and tossed it back down at his brother before skipping out of the room and closing the door behind him, so that when Stavros tried to retaliate, the pillow hit the closed door of the bedroom instead of its intended target.

"Little brothers," Stavros said with a sigh, and then he set his book and glasses on the bed-side table and flicked the lamp off, then turned over to go to sleep.

~*****~

Stavros arrived at the restaurant first, and was nervously picking at his clothes and obsessively checking his hair in whatever reflective surfaces happened to be available to him at that time.

He hadn't been on a date in ages, and couldn't even remember the proper way one was supposed to act on dates so as not to seem weird or over-the-top in any way. Should he act casual? Or should he act formal, to show he was a gentleman?

Finally, Quinn made her way over to his table. "Stavros, hey! Sorry I'm a little late. It took a while for my relief to show up at work," Quinn explained. Stavros hopped up and pulled the chair out for her, deciding that he should at least be a little bit formal, at the risk of seeming rude otherwise.

"Not at all. Don't worry about it. How are you?" Stavros asked. He was vaguely aware that he was talking a little quick, a product of his nervousness.

Quinn smirked; she knew that he was nervous around her. She found it quite adorable. "I'm fine. And yourself?" she asked, picking up a menu.

"Good…great. I mean, fantastic, even…hehehe!" Stavros replied. He blushed again and looked away. God, he was making a mess of things. He sounded like a total creeper.

Quinn sighed, reached over the table and took Stavros's hand. "Could you stop trying to be someone you're not and just be yourself?" she asked.

Stavros glanced down at her hand on his, a warm blush flooding his face. Then he glanced up at her and smiled. "I'm just nervous," he admitted.

Quinn retracted her hand. "I figured," she muttered.

"Hey!" he protested, and she laughed at him. Thus, Stavros let go of all he had been fretting over and was finally himself, leaving it up to God whether or not this relationship would work, or if it were doomed to failure; after all, he could only do his best, and if that wasn't enough, then nothing would be.

_~*****~_

Monday came before Nikko was ready. He didn't feel like waking up and going to class. After all, it was his senior year and it was almost over. There was nothing new being taught, and yet they were required to attend. It was ridiculous.

Nevertheless, Nikko rolled out of bed and got dressed, yawning as he did so, and then stepped out of his room. What he hadn't counted on, however, was someone being there already.

"Nikko!"

Nikko felt his blood freeze and stared in front of him; it was Zoë. She was giving him a vacant smile. Without saying a word, he walked over to Stavros's room and stepped inside without knocking. Stavros was not dressed. In fact, he was in the process of getting dressed when Nikko came in and nearly fell over when his angry younger brother stormed in.

Without preamble, Nikko glared. "What is she doing here?" he asked, his voice low with anger.

Stavros, after recovering from his shock, finished pulling on his pants. "Don't worry. She's not staying. I'm taking her out around town with Quinn," Stavros said.

Nikko felt some of his anger, although not all of it, begin to fade. "Why?"

"Because I care for her, Nikko, despite what you think. She deserves to spend time with at least one of her sons," Stavros said.

Nikko folded his arms and leaned back against the wall next to the door. "You said Quinn was going with you. I didn't see her. Where is she?"

"Probably in the bathroom," Stavros said, adjusting his tie in the full-length mirror next to his closet.

"You sure got close to her in a short period of time. Wasn't your first date just yesterday?"

"Yes, but it was a good first-date, and I wanted to spend more time with her. She had work today, so I told her we could walk around town with Mom and then, when she got off, she could come over and have dinner with us. Do you think Courtney would want to come tonight, as well?" Stavros glanced at him from across the room.

Nikko shrugged. "Probably…but Mom isn't going to be there, is she?" Nikko said.

Stavros sighed and rolled his eyes. "No. She's not allowed out of the hospital after 5 PM. Why would it have mattered?"

"I don't want Courtney to know that I have a cracked-up mother that's holed up in an asylum," Nikko growled, pushing off of the wall. "Anyways, I have to go to school. See you."

With that, Nikko swept out of the room. Zoë glanced up at him when he walked out, and for an instant, he thought he saw a little bit of the mother he had known when he was a child in her eyes…but then it was gone, and Nikko didn't stay to talk to her. She was dead to him.

~*****~

The day moved swiftly, despite Nikko's dread earlier that morning. Before he even realized what was going on, he was at lunch and Courtney was beside him. Janet, Caspian and Tajid were sitting there as well; the other 'Taccies had different lunch periods.

The school was serving chicken tenders today and Nikko had a tray of them in front of him, but he was barely touching his food. Courtney glanced at him.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

Nikko started, as if he were just being woken from a particularly bad dream. "No, I'm fine. Just tired," he said, using the first convenient excuse that came up. He didn't want Courtney to worry.

She eyed him, as if she could sense the lie in him, but he just stared steadily at her. Finally, she smiled lightly at him. "If you say so," she stated, which was her way of saying she thought he was lying but wasn't going to pry. Nikko was grateful.

Courtney then turned a grin to everyone. "Alright, so I was listening to one of Nikko's old demos yesterday, and I think we have a great idea for the next Spectacular hit! I thought I'd run it by all of you, see what you thought," Courtney said.

Janet perked up. "Oh, really!?" she asked excitedly. "I can't wait to hear it!"

Tajid and Caspian nodded beside her. "Do you have it on you?" Tajid asked.

"Of course!" Courtney said, reaching back behind her to grab her bag. She quickly pulled it into her lap and rifled through it. Several sheets of paper were sticking up out of it and Courtney carelessly moved them aside on her quest to find the CD in question.

"Wow, Court! What a mess," Nikko teased, trying to dispel any lingering worry. He took the bag away from her and then he began taking out some of the stray papers and stacking them on the table next to his tray. "Do you need all of this junk?" he asked her.

Courtney sniffed. "Some of it might possibly come in handy!" she defended.

"Oh, right. Like, a paper on how music defined certain eras that you wrote when you were a freshman will really be useful," he said. Courtney shrugged and chose not to answer.

"And what's this?" Nikko pulled out a book with a flowery design on its bindings. Several stray sheets were sticking out, but the book itself was latched closed. It was clearly a diary and the year on the front was from when they were all in the eighth grade. "When was the last time you even opened this diary? Most of this crap should be tossed. Face it Court, you're a packrat!"

Courtney grabbed her diary and her bag, her face a slight shade of red. "That diary is important to me, Nikko," she said.

Nikko felt rotten all of a sudden. He hadn't meant anything offensive. I mean, hey, at least he hadn't opened it and read it out loud. He didn't understand why Courtney was so upset, but he didn't like making her unhappy.

"He didn't mean anything bad by it, Court," Janet said, looking between them. "Right, Nikko?"

"Of course not!" he said. "Hey, look, I'm sorry, okay?" He reached over and placed his arm around Courtney's shoulders and kissed her head affectionately. She smiled at him.

"I know you didn't mean anything bad by it," she admitted softly, then reached into her bag once more. "Here it is!" she said, finally pulling out 3 copies of the CD. She passed it out to each of them just in time, before the bell rang. "I'll give copies to the other 'Taccies after you 3 have gone over it and approved."

They all rose from their table and picked up their trays to carry over to the washing window, talking excitedly about what their next hit was going to be like. Courtney and Nikko held back from the group a bit.

"Courtney--"

"Nikko---" they began at the same time. Both of them stopped and then burst out laughing.

"Okay, you first," Courtney said.

"I just wanted to say I was sorry again, for the diary. I didn't know it meant so much to you," Nikko explained.

"I know…It's just…it was the last year my dad was alive, and it has all of my memories of him in it. That's why I've kept it," Courtney said, sadness creeping into her usually chipper voice. She then quickly smiled. "But it's okay. No worries."

Nikko lightly smiled back. "I love you," he blurted out. While he had known for some time that what he felt for her was love, he had never actually voiced it out loud to her and it took them both by surprise when he did.

She shot him a glance. She was almost speechless, but it didn't take long to recover and Courtney gave him the brightest smile she had ever given him, one that completely touched her eyes and showed in all of her face. "I love you, too, Nikko," she answered.

Nikko suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Courtney, what were you going to say before?"

"Nothing. It's not important. I'm just happy, that's all," Courtney said, and then the two of them separated to go to their classes, Nikko giving her a quick peck on the lips. The two of them were possibly the happiest couple at Lincoln High School. No, they _were_ the happiest couple at Lincoln High School, hands down. Who knew that their love would be challenged by various situations that arose from their pasts?

~*****~

**A/N: Alright, here is the chapter! Please review! ^_^**


	6. Chapter Five: What Was I Supposed to Do?

**A/N: Okay, so, I'm sitting in my room, and it's rainy, and so I decided…Why not write a chapter? And so, I shall. Lol. I hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Five: What Was I Supposed to Do?**

Stavros returned home shortly before dinner. He had a lot on his mind. Today had been great; he got to spend time with both Quinn and his mother, and Quinn was actually going to stay. It saddened him, however, to think of his mother stuck in the hospital eating whatever the cafeteria provided while he and his friends enjoyed a great meal. It saddened him even more that his brother didn't seem to care at all.

Nikko was sitting on the couch, some music video show playing on the television. He seemed to have fallen asleep, his head lolling against the back of the sofa, and Stavros smirked. Quinn came up behind him, carrying some groceries for the pasta that she was going to help him make tonight.

"Something the matter?" she asked, noticing that Stavros had stopped. Then she spotted his little brother and a smile found its way onto her face. "He looks cute."

"Yeah. Guess it was a long day for him," Stavros said. He walked over to the kitchen and set what he was carrying onto the counter, then turned and took the load out of Quinn's arms as well. Then he sighed. "Too bad I have to wake him up," he said.

Stavros made his way over to his brother and reached over, attempting to lay a hand on his shoulder to shake him awake. He had scarcely reached the shoulder when Nikko shot awake, grunting and moving out of the way, promptly falling onto the floor.

Stavros held in his laughter. "A pretty intense dream, huh?" he teased lightly.

Nikko glared up at him from the rug and stood, dusting himself off. "Shut up," he muttered grumpily.

Quinn came over. "Hi, I'm Quinn," she said, holding out her hand.

Nikko looked momentarily surprised and decidedly embarrassed before he reached out and took her hand; he had to admit, Quinn was a pretty girl. "Sorry you had to see me take a spill there. Stavros's face just scared me so bad that I couldn't help it," Nikko said, sending a smirk towards his brother. Nikko one, Stavros one…they were tied.

Stavros, for his part, took the jibe with much grace and smiled. "Touché, little brother," he said and all of them lightly laughed.

A knock on the door got their attention and Nikko bounded down the stairs. "Probably Courtney," he said, flinging open the door. He came up short as he saw that it was not actually Courtney, but somebody he hadn't seen before.

"Uh…can I help you?" Nikko asked.

"Hi, I'm Dr. John Dresden. I'm the attending physician of your mother," the man explained, smiling tightly and offering his hand. His smile didn't really reach his eyes and Nikko was instantly wary of this man.

"Stavros, it's for you," Nikko said, ignoring the proffered hand and treading up to his room. Stavros watched Nikko go and shook his head, then turned to their visitor.

"Can I help you?" Stavros asked. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why this man would show up at their home.

"Is it alright if I come inside?" the doctor said.

"Yes, yes, of course," Stavros said, and the doctor came in, closing the door softly behind him.

The doctor glanced around the home and spotted Quinn for the first time. "Oh…Miss McCarthy. I hadn't realized you'd be here," he said, truly surprised by her presence.

Quinn smiled at him. "Well, I am," she said.

The doctor laughed. "So it appears. Anyways," at this, Dr. Dresden looked back at Stavros. "You're probably wondering what the heck I'm doing here."

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes," Stavros said.

"It's about your mother."

"I figured as much. I'm sorry to be rude, but could you please just tell me what it is you want to talk to me about? Is she getting worse or something?"

"Quite the contrary," the doctor said. "She seems to be recovering quite remarkably. Which was why I came to you today. You see, she no longer feels like she needs to stay at the hospital and has told me, point blank, that she will no longer take her medication. She wants to stay here."

Stavros blinked. "Stay here?"

Dr. Dresden just nodded, not sure what else to say.

"And you think she's well enough to leave?" Quinn asked.

"I'm not really sure. You see, she is still plainly…disturbed. But she is more aware than she has been in ages, which leads me to believe that finding her family has given her the willpower to fight against the muck in her brain. It's amazing, really. This morning, she was barely responsive. Tonight, she was arguing with me," the doctor explained.

"She has improved that much? In one day?" Stavros asked.

"Yes. And that's why I figured I'd leave it up to you as to whether she remain in the hospital or not," Dr. Dresden stated.

Stavros was torn. He definitely wanted to bring her home, but Nikko…Stavros glanced at the door to his brother's room. Loud music was playing (as usual) and Stavros imagined that Nikko was trying to drown out whatever pain he was feeling with the sudden re-emergence of his estranged mother.

It occurred to Stavros then that maybe taking Nikko out of his comfort zone was exactly what he needed to finally face the demons of his past. Perhaps their mother wouldn't be the only one that would recover if she were brought home. It would be tough…Nikko would probably hate him forever. But he doubted very seriously that Nikko would permanently leave. It was cold world out there, and even if Nikko did leave for a while, he would probably get over it soon enough.

"Doctor," Stavros began, "I have to think about it. My brother…he has issues about our mom that he needs to face. Is there any way that I can get in contact with you?"

"Of course, Mr. Alexander." The doctor reached into his white coat pocket and pulled out a little business card. "Just call that number when you've reached a decision. Good evening to both of you." With that, Dr. Dresden turned and left the home and Stavros was left with a very difficult decision. He would definitely be talking to his brother tonight, and he didn't know how that was going to go.

~*****~

Courtney had arrived for dinner just moments after the doctor's departure and all of them enjoyed a good meal. Quinn had offered to drive Courtney home, since it had started to rain and Courtney had reluctantly accepted; after all, she really didn't enjoy walking in the rain.

This meant that Stavros and Nikko were alone at last and Stavros still didn't know how he was going to talk to Nikko about this.

"Stavros, man, you're looking at me strangely," Nikko stated, eyeing his brother suspiciously. "Just say what I know you want to say and get it over with."

Stavros took a deep breath. "I want to bring Mom home."

Anger flashed warningly in Nikko's green eyes. "We already talked about that. You know what I'm going to do if you bring that woman back here."

"You said you'd leave, but where the hell would you go, Nikko?"

"I have friends."

"And they'd just accept you, without a second thought, and allow you to live with them? Reality check, bro. Your friends may care about you, but that doesn't mean that their families would be willing to take on another mouth to feed," Stavros said, arching an eyebrow questioningly.

"You don't know them; of course they'd take me in. They would never leave me out to rot, unlike my older brother," Nikko said, sounding somewhat petulant.

"Don't even play that card, Nikko! You're the one that's threatening to leave. I'm not forcing you into doing anything," Stavros said.

"You may as well be! You know how I feel about her and yet you want to bring her home? Well, fine. She can come home, but I'll be out of here."

"Listen to me. You are being selfish. Completely and utterly selfish. Yes, she left us, Nikko. That was wrong of her. But are you going to let her rule your life like this forever?"

"Rule my life? What the hell are you talking about?" Nikko said, sounding genuinely perplexed.

"You are letting her very presence be enough to force you out of your own home; you're giving her more strength than she actually has, Nikko. You know what I think? I think you're afraid. Afraid that you might actually love her, because you've hated her for so long and it would be too strange to suddenly care for her. You want to blame her for every bad thing in the world, because that's the convenient thing to do; but it's hard to blame her when she's right in front of you, isn't it? Hard to make everything her fault when you see she barely even recognizes her own children," Stavros said, a lot harsher than he had intended to be. But sometimes, harsh was the only thing that worked. What else was he supposed to do?

Nikko stared at him for a long moment. "You don't know me," he said, and turned away from him, locking himself in his room and drowning the world out through his loud music. The only thing it did was prove that Stavros did, in fact, know Nikko; he only knew him too well.

~*****~

**A/N: Alright, I'm gonna drop it off there. I shall update again as soon as possible. And please review! ^_^**


End file.
